Shadows: Book 2 of Balance
by WeaslyIsOurKing04
Summary: There are two different ideas for the second Book of Balance. The first option is a look into Azalea growing up as an active monarch in the nine realms. This will show her relationship with Loki and Thor as kids. The second option is the ten years where Azalea was an active member of SHEILD. This is her creating the Avengers initiative and scouting recruits.
1. Prolouge

_1980_

I Should never have trusted a man who created his entire fortune by selling weapons, but on that day I was going to make things right,

"STARK!" I shouted into the echoy foyer as I burst through the front door. I didn't wait for a reply from anyone before I started bounding up the stairs two at a time. I breezed down the long corridor and brushed past Jarvis. He attempted to grab my arm to stop me from going any further. Jarvis may have worked with Peggy and I, but he was nowhere near my level of training.

I pounded on the door of Howard's study. When the door wasn't immediately opened, I broke it down.

"Jarvis I thought I said I wasn't to be disturbed," Howard said calmly, not even looking up from his notes.

"It's not Jarvis, Howard," I Spat out. A dark wave of worry crossed his face.

"How dare you!" I practically screamed at him.

"Az, you don't understand."

"What? What don't I understand? You sold me out as a weapon!"

"Azalea, listen to me," he moved away from his desk and reached for my shoulder. I jerked away from him.

"Don't you dare touch me. I trusted you! I trusted Peggy!" Tears welled up in my eyes, "I hope you never try to find me because if you do then your whole family will burn."

"Don't threaten me child," Howard warned.

"I'm not making threats, Stark,' 'I turned back to the door, "I'm making a promise. And I always keep my promises." I whipped out of the study and nearly knocked over a five-year-old child. I used the wind to keep him upright.

"Aunt Lea, why are you mad at my Daddy?" I bent down to look him in the eyes. "Because I have to go away for a while, Tony," I said on the verge of tears.

"Can I go with you?"

"No, I'm going very far away and you need to be here for Aunty Peggy. Can you promise me that you'll stay?"

"Yes, Aunt Lea," he said crying, "I promise."

I hugged the little boy close and he pushed his face as far into my jacket as he could. I pulled away from the crying child. Tony grabbed on to my arm, but I kept going. I knew then that I would see him again, but much had changed before I did.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 _October 2007_

 _Triskelion D.C_

"Is it wise to test the creature, Director?"

"We need to know what kind of a threat this thing is."

I pressed my palms against the cool surface of Nick Fury's desk, "but if the hulk is as uncontrollable as Ross made it seem-"

"You will follow my orders Agent," Nick said calmly. The tone of his voice and his unusual choice of words proved to me that this was our only option in the matter.

"I'll monitor him and keep a detailed file," I said calmly turning to leave the room.

"Agent Kingsley, I have another assignment I want you leading."

This caught my attention. I met Nick's eyes and saw the glimmer of something I had never seen before. I think it was hope for something. "What kind of assignment?"

"Actually, it's more of an initiative."

 _August 2010_

 _Triskelion D.C_

Technology is incredible. So much has advanced in this world since I first arrived. The humans did handwritten work with beautiful looped scrip, which was innovated into typed text. The typing held its own beauty. It gave everyone perfect letters, everything legible and organized.

Now I don't even have to lift a finger to take notes. My virtual assistant both fascinated and terrified me. Never before has technology been this powerful, and of course it was Howard's son leading the progression.

I pulled my head out of the past. I calmly walked down the hall towards my office thinking of how little I was going to accomplish. It wasn't like enhanced people were making themselves well known.

"Good morning, Agent Kingsley," an animatronic voice greeted me.

"Good morning, Clove," I responded to the empty room. "And how is Dr. Banner doing today?"

"All his vitals are calm and normal Miss," she told me as a video feed of a once great man appeared on the screen. Clove went over more of the general information about his vitals. I never really listened to that, I usually just watched Bruce slip further away. I felt so helpless, but all I could do was monitor his threat level and if he was keeping his health up.

I swiped the file off my virtual desk and opened up a dormant one that hadn't been touched in over a decade. No matter how I felt about Howard Stark at the end of our acquaintance, I was still upset by the news of his and Maria's untimely demise.

Every time I opened a new file about this tragedy my gut twisted with anger and guilt. If I hadn't overreacted Tony wouldn't have been left alone after their deaths. If I had been there I could have saved them.

"Miss," Clove said suddenly. "Agent Coulson is attempting contact."

"Patch him through," I said closing the file. "Phil," I said to the image of my friend on my screen. "What do you have for me today?"

"Lea, we found Tony," he said. "He escaped his captors using, well… we're not sure what he used yet."

"Find out what it was and see if it would be an asset to the initiative."

 _May 2011_

 _Undisclosed Location_

"Is this what you want you want to do Nat?" I asked her as a suriken went whizzing past my ear. I summersaulted backwards towards the wall as she flipped through the air and landed in the spot where I was seconds prior.

"Well if you want him monitored up close, I'm your best bet at staying close and hidden." She sprung towards me and I rolled out of the way of her roundhouse. Nat landed hard and had to remain low to recompose herself. I kicked my leg out to knock her over.

Nat's hand darted out like a cobra and she put an iron grip around my ankle. She put all her strength into throwing me into the wall. All the wind was knocked out of me and I wasn't able to move again before she had her hands on my throat signaling that training was over.

"You're getting much better," she said rolling off of me and onto her feet. She grabbed two bottles of water. I sat up quickly to grab the one she tossed at me.

"Thanks, it's been so long since I had proper hand-to-hand training," I said before taking a long sip. "But seriously, you have better things to do that babysit Tony Stark."

"But you need him evaluated, and other than you and that's off the table, I am the only one who can do it accurately." She offered me a hand up, I took it accepting her offer to evaluate Avengers."

 _April 2012_

 _Retreat_

I sat on the edge of the small lake letting the winds blow through every strand of hair on my head. I always kept it close at first. I continue my morning meditation by leaning back into the grass and expanded my reach and control into all of Retreat. My winds entered every crevice in the bark of trees. I moved every blade of grass. I felt the beauty and serenity in all of Retreat. I see all that the wind touches and the further I push my reach the more I can see.

I sit up and release my control in one breath. I release the winds into the sky and move back into the cabin where Steve Rogers sat on the couch flipping through old news papers.

"When di you start meditating?" He asked without looking up.

"1995," I said sitting next to him. "I met a religious group that helped me clear my mind of all my pain. It lets me only focus on the control of my element. Eventually it became a routine."

"I'm sorry," he suddenly blurted out.

"What?"

He put his head in his hands, "I promised I would never leave you without a family again and that's exactly what happened."

"No," I whispered and hugged him. "No, I stayed. I stayed with Peggy until 1980. I left because I needed to find myself." We sat like that for hours with us sharing stories to help him remember what made him happy. He told me about Brooklyn and I sat and listened to all about his past that he was so far from now.

 _1408_

 _Asguard_

"And on this day an alliance between our kingdoms has been forged," my mother sounded more regal and powerful than she ever had before. I stood next to my sisters. Each of us wore clothes to represent the elements. Dahlia wore clothes for water as she was the only one to have specialized. The rest of us had a choice in our clothes.

Bramble had her blonde hair braided down her back with baby's breath woven in. Her silver tiara was pinned delicately to the top of her head. She wore a blue and green chiffon dress with no straps. The blue accented her watery eyes.

Her twin wore her hair in a magnificent ponytail updo. Her golden curls entwined through her tiara and the two colours clashed in the most beautiful way. Clove's dress was gold with red spirals that looked like flames.

Dahlia was a vision. We all looked common standing next to her with her shimmering blue and gray gown. Every time she moved it gave the impression. Her hair colour was similar to mine, but hers had more brown in it. She let her curls cascade down her back. Her tiara was gold symbolizing that she was the heir.

I wore a dress that had the front hem come to my knees so that I couldn't trip. I was not as graceful as my sisters by any stretch. The dress had the colours of a sunset and it looked like a painted sky, but the colours clashed with my red hair and pale skin. My green eyes looked washed out. I did love the knot that my hair was tied into though. I barely felt the tiara pinned into my hair.

I tore my eyes away from my beautiful sisters and put them back on my mom. She had more beauty and elegance in her little finger than anyone else in the nine-realms. Everyone called her the shadow queen. She lived up to the name with her ability to control the shadows. Her power matched her white blonde hair and her usual black attire.

She stood next to the Allfather addressing the citizens of Asguard and The Zone. "The nine-realms will finally be safe and in balance due to the strong bonds we have created between our two people." My mother signaled her handmaid to bring her a box.

"This box contains the last infinity stone that needs to be hidden and protected." She handed the box to Odin. "As long as this remains safe so will our alliance."

He bowed to her in respect and se in return. Now it was his turn to offer a gift of alliance. He stepped forward and addressed the crowd.

"I Odin, Allfather, offer two gifts to the Alliance between our two people," he glanced that the two boys who stood opposite us. They moved towards the stage as I made a sideways glance to my sisters. Based on their faces they were also confused.

"My son," Odin continued as the blonde one stepped forward. "Thor will one day be king of Asguard. Every king needs a queen, so he has offered his hand in marriage to one of your daughters." As my sisters and I recoiled in horror at the thought of an arranged marriage the boy with black hair stepped forward. "My younger Son Loki has also offered to strengthen the Alliance with not just one marriage, but two."

My mother bowed to accept the boys offers, "I accept the proposals, but as it is part of our heritage for our heir to marry a commoner, her hand is not part of the offer. My youngest three would love to choose between your sons, thank you."

Bramble, Clove, and I straightened our spines and walked over to meet our mother. We kept our faces strong as we all silently said goodbye to our lives of freedom.


End file.
